Destination: District 3
Had it been about a week since that incident during the long-term deployment mission? The interior of the building was rapidly returning to normal. The people who had evacuated to other areas were returning one by one, and the place was finally beginning to buzz with its usual vitality.
I ran down the hallway with Shine, both of our arms stretched out wide. "Shine! Hurry!" If we got caught, we were dead. I turned my head to check on our pursuer. A woman was charging through the crowd at a terrifying speed. Her vibrant pink hair fluttered wildly, announcing her presence to the world.
"H-Hurry!" If we got caught, it was over. Shine and I ran with all our might to escape Amy. "Jeff! Shine!" Amy was furious. She had found out that we didn't brush our teeth last night. Running for our lives, Shine and I burst into the office and locked the door tight behind us.
"Hey, Jeff."
"Yeah?"
"Why did we run into the office?"
"What do you mean why? That's because..." My voice trailed off, and my mouth hung open. I had done something incredibly stupid. We had to report to the office in the morning anyway. And so did Amy. Running here out of habit was the ultimate blunder. I had basically walked right into a dead end.
I stared at the locked door with trembling eyes. Beep, beep-beep— The sound of the passcode being entered echoed from the other side. A moment later, the door swung open, revealing a furious Amy. "Gasp!" Startled, I dashed to the sofa to hide. But such resistance was utterly meaningless before Amy. Charging in at lightning speed, she shoved a toothbrush right into my mouth. Shine already had one clamped between her teeth as well. To make matters worse, the toothpaste was mint-flavored. I mumbled with a tearful face, chewing on the bristles.
"Jeff. If you don't brush your teeth just because you're lazy, they're all going to rot." Amy personally worked the toothbrushes, scrubbing my and Shine's teeth. As we were being subjected to this forced hygiene, Victor and Rain walked into the office. The two of them looked rather unusual. Instead of their usual comfortable loungewear, they were dressed in outdoor clothes. The bag in Victor's hand was a massive travel suitcase, and Rain was carrying one that was just as large.
"What's this? Where are you two going?" Amy asked, eyeing them.
Rain gave her a bizarre look and asked back, "Amy, do you really not know?"
"Know what?"
"We got assigned a long-term deployment mission."
"A deployment mission?" Amy's face crumpled at Rain's words. She immediately pulled out her phone and dialed Jin. After a few rings, Jin's voice came through.
"I'm going to take this call. Make sure you brush your teeth properly, okay?"
"Mmph." I nodded, my reply completely muffled by the foam filling my mouth. Amy stepped out of the office to talk. I vigorously worked my toothbrush and looked up at Victor. He was sitting on his large travel suitcase, looking down at me.
"What is it?"
"Mmmph..." Unable to answer, I ran to the sink and spat out all the foam. After a quick rinse, I asked him, "Victor! What's a long-term deployment mission?"
"Hmm..." He opened his mouth to speak, but then ran a hand through his hair with a look of sheer annoyance. After a brief pause, Victor replied with a small sigh, "Ask Amy."
"Hmph!" I puffed out my cheeks at his dismissive attitude. I couldn't stand being kept in the dark. This time, I approached Rain. The suitcase she had dragged in was massive. Leaning my body against it, I asked her, "Hey, Rain. What's a long-term deployment mission?"
"It's exactly what it sounds like. You go to another district for an extended period to carry out a mission."
"Another district?"
"Yeah. This time, we're being deployed to District 3."
"District 3..." While I was hanging onto Rain's suitcase, Amy returned to the office, having finished her call with Jin.
"Didn't you already talk to Jin about this?" Victor asked.
"Talk? I wasn't told a single thing." Amy's expression was grim. She rubbed her forehead as she spoke with Victor. I approached Amy and gently tugged on her hand. "Amy, is something wrong?"
"It's nothing." Amy answered, her face instantly brightening at my question. Her soft hand came down on my head, gently ruffling my hair.
"What are you going to do about the kids?" Victor asked.
"Jin said to leave them at headquarters... but as if I could do that." Amy answered as she scooped me up into her arms. I reached out and wrapped my arms around her neck.
"Are we going somewhere?"
"Yes." The anticipation of going outside, mixed with a little anxiety—I felt both emotions at once. I wiggled my fingers behind Amy's back and asked, "We're all going together, right?"
"Yes, we're all going together." Amy answered, setting me down next to Shine. The moment I touched the ground, Shine grabbed me in a tight hug.
"If it's District 3, nothing much should happen. Especially given the kids' skills." Victor said, pushing his suitcase into a corner. "I'll be waiting, so go pack your bags quickly."
"Bags?" Amy asked back, as if she couldn't comprehend the concept.
"Yeah."
"Why pack when we can just buy everything there?" Victor's mouth hung open at Amy's response. In the end, we boarded the elevator without packing a single thing. Victor looked highly displeased.
The elevator quickly ascended and arrived at the top floor. Beyond the wide-open doors stood Jin, Shumain, and Mary. The moment I spotted Mary, I raised my hand high. "Mary!" Since I hadn't seen her recently, I thought she might have been deployed elsewhere, but fortunately, she was here. When she saw me, she waved with a small smile.
"Are you really that short on people?" Amy blurted out the moment she saw Jin. Jin bowed his head with an apologetic expression and apologized. Amy let out a small sigh at that.
"Are you planning to take the kids too?" Jin's gaze turned to me, Shine, and Rain.
"I have no choice. I'd be too anxious, and I wouldn't be able to stand leaving them behind."
"If you can take good care of them, that's fine, but can you really carry out a mission with the kids in tow?"
"What's so hard about it? We just have to do what we always do."
"I suppose so." Jin looked at us with a worried expression. I stuck my tongue out at Jin and hid behind Amy.
"I've sent the coordinates of the temporary residence and the target separately. The neighbors will just think of you as people who recently moved in." Jin said, pulling a stack of documents from his coat and handing them to Amy. "Read the details when you get there, and burn them once you're done." Amy nodded and took the documents.
Right after, Mary approached and handed over some small boxes. They were the same design as the box containing Rain's suit that I had seen in the lab. Amy, Victor, and Rain naturally took the boxes. I looked up at Mary with a bit of anticipation. Where's mine? Where's mine? Mary seemed to feel my gaze and wore a troubled expression. "Sorry. Yours and Shine's are still in the concept stage, so I don't have anything to give you yet." My face fell in deep disappointment at Mary's answer. My shoulders slumped. I wanted a cool suit like Rain's too. "Is there nothing for me and Jeff?" Shine also looked up at Mary with a disappointed expression.
At that, Mary's expression became frantic. She looked around, and as if remembering something, she pulled out a small, elongated object from her pocket. It looked just like a small crayon. "Ta-da!" Shine and I said nothing. We didn't know what that thing was used for. "Y-You use it like this!" Beep— When Mary pressed the button on the elongated object, a red light beamed from the tip. Shine and my eyes followed the red dot. A laser pointer. Yes, what Mary showed us was a laser pointer. "H-How is it? Cool, right?" "Whoa!" I shouted in admiration. The shape of the laser wasn't ordinary. It was actually star-shaped.
"I'll give you this, so can you be patient for a little bit?" Mary handed me the laser pointer. I examined the object she gave me. There were two more buttons besides the one I thought was the only one. I pressed another button. The star-shaped laser turned into a heart shape. "Gasp!" This time, I pressed the other button. The reddish light turned into a blue light. An incredibly cool laser pointer! "Do you like it?" Mary squatted down to meet my eyes and asked. I hugged the laser pointer tightly with trembling hands. I loved it so much. It was so cool. It was truly the best.
"What about me?"
"Yeah, what about Shine's?" At Shine's and my questions, Mary pulled out another laser pointer. It looked exactly like mine. Shine let out a satisfied smile. Our preparations were mostly complete. I ran to Amy's side and grabbed her hand. "Are you ready? I'm opening the door." Shumain, who had been waiting in the back for a while, spoke to us and stretched her hand forward. Just like before, space stretched sideways, creating a large hole. What was visible on the other side of the space looked like the interior of an ordinary house. We stepped toward it.
The moment we crossed the faint boundary, the surrounding air changed instantly. I didn't feel the dizziness that usually came with warp abilities. It felt like walking from one room to another, with no sensation at all. The house was spacious. Very, very spacious. A wide carpet, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and even a wooden staircase. "Alright, focus." Clap, clap— As we were excitedly looking around, Amy clapped her hands to gather our attention. Once she confirmed everyone was looking, Amy handed out small bracelets to everyone.
"These are simple perception-disrupting bracelets, so make sure to wear them whenever you go out."
"Okay!" I immediately put on the bracelet Amy handed me. Instantly, a subtle sensation enveloped my entire body. Shine put on her bracelet just like me. Then, Shine's appearance transformed in an instant. Her snow-white hair turned a shade of blue, and her eyes also changed to a watery blue. Her features became somewhat blurry. Unless you focused and stared, her presence was so faint that she would be forgotten in an instant.
"Jeff looks weird." Shine said, looking at me and grabbing my cheeks. She looked weird to me too. "Shine looks like that too." Victor and Rain also put on their bracelets. Instantly, both of their hair and eye colors changed to black. Their features became blurry as well. If you looked from afar, they were so hard to recognize that you wouldn't think they were Rain and Victor.
"Aren't you going to wear one, Amy?" I asked, taking off my bracelet. Instead of answering, she showed me with her actions. The moment she put the small bracelet on her wrist, it suddenly shattered into pieces. The fragments of the bracelet fell to the floor. "I'm fine." Amy said, pulling out a pair of sunglasses from her coat and putting them on. The black sunglasses gleamed.